Fall means figs for Shanghai foodies

Fig season is sadly brief. At least in Shanghai.

“Too short here,” laments Stefan Stiller, owner and executive chef of Stiller’s Restaurant & Cooking School.

Dried figs, of course, are available all year round, but they hardly compare to the sweet perfume and luscious ripeness of fresh ones.

Picking the right fig

“Your best best is to pick them fresh from the tree," Stiller advises. "I always used to pick my fresh figs in Germany. We had a lot of fig trees in our garden."

We should all be so lucky.

For those without access to a personal fig orchard, Napa Wine Bar & Kitchen’s chef de cuisine Shaun Anthony advises, “When shopping for figs, choose carefully as figs are very easily damaged. To find a good one, smell the base. It should have a strong, honey-sweet fig perfume. Buy figs that are wrapped in paper towels to protect against bruising and keep extra moisture away.”

Also keep in mind that figs do not ripen further once harvested.

Unleashing its aphrodisiac properties

The sweetness of figs intensifies when paired with salty, sour and bitter flavors. Therefore, they go well with salty cured meats, vinegars and bitter greens like arugula.

“I don’t believe a nice fresh product like a fig requires much fiddling about," says Anthony. "Keep it simple and let the ingredients speak for themselves. Figs are best eaten at room temperature, as the flavors and perfumes are better released when slightly warm.”

At Napa, figs are complemented with slices of Jamón de Ibérico, Manchego cheese, walnuts, aged balsamic vinegar and a sherry-vinegar dressing.

Stiller makes chutney from fresh figs and serves it with Moulard duck breast, green apple jelly and ginger sauce. At home he keeps things simple, serving figs on a salad with some fresh goat cheese. Now that's a recipe anyone can follow.

Fig and Jamon de Iberico Bellota from Nape Wine Bar & Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 fresh, ripe fig, quartered
• 30g Jamòn de Ibèrico Bellota
• 5ml lemon juice
• 20ml extra virgin olive oil
• 10ml sherry walnut vinaigrette
• 20g frisèe
• 20g Manchego cheese, cut into four wedges
• 5ml of 10-year aged balsamic vinegar
• 10g walnuts, toasted
• 5g fleur de sel

Sherry-walnut vinaigrette (makes 100ml)

• 25ml sherry vinegar
• 75ml walnut oil
• 3g kosher salt
• 5ml honey

Combine salt and sherry vinegar in a bowl with a whisk and leave for five minutes to dissolve. Slowly whisk in the walnut oil. Add honey to taste.

Dress the fig pieces with lemon juice, olive oil and fleur de sel to taste. Arrange the jamòn slices on a plate and place the fig quarters on top. In a bowl, dress the frisée with just enough of the sherry walnut dressing to coat it. Season with some fleur de sel. Spread out the frisée on top of the figs and jamòn. Place the cheese wedges at different angles to the figs. Lightly crush the walnuts and scatter them all over the salad. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.

getting there

Napa Wine Bar & Kitchen
57 Jiangyin Lu, near Huangpi Lu 江阴路57号, 近黄陂北路
tel. +86 21 6318 0057
www.napawinebarandkitchen.com

Stiller’s Restaurant & Cooking School
The Cool Docks, 6-7/F, Bldg 3, 505 Zhongshan Nan Lu, near Fuxing Dong Lu 中山南路505弄3号楼6-7楼, 近复兴东路
tel. +86 21 6152 6501
www.stillers-restaurant.cn